Even though it’s a balmy 78° in Denver today, the good ole’
weather man says it’s going to snow next Thursday. So, time to clean up out in the garden. Since I was out of town the last time it snowed, I still
came home to some dead plants.
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| Garden area. Next year... MORE! |
Today I pulled out the cucumbers, peppers,
tomatoes, zucchini, cantaloupe, string beans, and the basil. Crispy, they were,
so into the compost pile they went. Took out all the tomato cages and trellis
supports and stowed them away.
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| Herb Haul |
Oregano, rosemary,
sage, thyme, and the heaping big pile of French tarragon on the right. The bowl
has dried fennel seeds. After all the dead twigs and leaves from the neighbor’s aspen tree are cleaned
out from the herbs, I’ll tie up the branches and slip them into brown grocery bags and hang them from the basement rafters. In a few weeks they will be
crispy and I can easily strip the precious leaves from the woody stems inside
the bag and then store them in air tight containers for use this winter. Save the woody stems to throw on the BBQ coals!
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| Beets and Swiss Chard |
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| Kale, Celery and Parsley |
I plan on making leek and potato soup and putting the batch
in quart jars to process in the pressure caner. I’ll pickle the beets. Still
have to figure out the carrots but I found a good recipe for pickled carrots,
too. The kale and Swiss chard will withstand some snow and we can add the
chopped up leaves to our soups and stews.
GM
